Family RV Trip: Day 1

My blog is about to take on a slightly different style. It will be transitioning into a travel blog as I spend the next 2.5 weeks in an RV with my family, driving around the US. Yes, that’s right. My entire family, plus my grandma and our two dogs, in a confined space for an extended period of time. This should make for some great experiences! I’m hoping this blog takes on a journal-type feel mixed with inspiration from “The Everywhereist” (I highly recommend Geraldine’s blog, if you have not read it) as I document our adventure from landscapes and sights to personal stories and memories for all of us to reference in years to come.

I burst out laughing as my family pulled up to gather me from the Nashville, Tennessee airport in a huge RV, and all I could see what this tiny little white head peeking out the window in front with it’s ears perked up. My family had arrived and, as usual, Bella (our dalmatian puppy) felt it was her job to lead the way. I hopped into the RV and off we went, with barely time to say hello before our dogs pounced! Bella and Abi (our black lab mix) covered me with kisses, and I almost instantly remembered that I had forgotten to take Claritin (darn those dog allergies of mine).

Finally I had a chance to breathe and reconnect with my family, as I haven’t seen them in months. And suddenly, we’re RV-ing! (If that isn’t a verb, it is now!)

Let me tell you, spending your day in an RV is literally only as fun as you make it. The land outside (for now) is solely flat farmland. Inside we have a bed, two couches, and a table with benches (keep in mind we’re going to try to sleep six people and two dogs here… Frankly, I don’t see how), a bathroom, a kitchen sink, an oven, a stove, a microwave, and the driver’s seat with two other seats near the front. Overall, it’s quite a lot of stuff, but it nothing very fun per se. My sisters and I have been using the time to read (my current venture is Into the Wild, which I find appropriate for this trip) and to play games, of which I’ve already lost three games of cribbage and one game of Bananagrams (see banana-looking object on table in photo above).

What is fun on this trip, so far, is the fact we’ve created several new games! First we have “Fly Killer,” which is where my sisters and I will compete to see who can kill the most flies with our single fly swatter. So far, Katie (20 years old) and I are tied with one fly each to our names, while Ashley (15 years old, and therefore seven years my younger) is dominating with six. Then we also have “Hold On!” where, whenever the RV makes a sharp turn or hits a pothole, we all try to hold on to the objects sliding every which way around us, all the while avoiding everything falling from cabinets and tables! Very similar is “Balance Test” where, when walking around, you attempt to keep your balance because as soon as you fall or trip or run into corners, everyone laughs at you. (Which isn’t very fair, because I’m naturally clumsy even on land.) Finally, we have our version of “Telephone” which I’m calling “RV-a-phone.” The RV is very loud, therefore making it extremely difficult to hear what someone else is saying, thus leading to a lot of hilarious miscommunication. The best so far is when Katie asks my dad in perfect seriousness “Are you going deaf?” and he answers, “What?!?”

I’m still debating what to do about photos on this trip. While I will definitely be photographing the scenery and the sights that we visit, I will also be taking pictures of the every day type stuff, such as my sisters and I being ridiculous and my parents trying to figure out where we are going. Perhaps I will start to post more than one picture per slide, though have a “feature” picture at the beginning. If you have any preference as to if you’d like more pictures or if I should stick with one, please let me know! I’m also considering doing multiple blog posts per day, each with a more specific topic, so I can include more photos. We’ll see…

That’s all for today, unless something hilarious happens before we go to bed for the night. Goodbye for now!